Attentive Hearts
by Donnie's Kunoichi
Summary: Donatello is tired, stressed, and lonely, working on his computer in the dark living room. However, after Raph witnesses him, he decides to spend the rest of the night pampering his little brother. He just thought it was good because he...cared. Besides, he was bored anyway. RaphxDon, 2012 universe. No romance, just brotherly love.


Before note: Sorry guys that I have been gone so long! Let's just say that I have been having huge trouble coming up with alternate climaxes for my other stories, just in case the originals were not to go as planned. But at least I'm back, and I brought a new story with me! YAY!

For all you RaphxDon lovers, I am sorry to say that there is no romance in this oneshot, just brother fluffiness. Quit laughing! I was bored! XD

I'm going to be making two more stories similar to this, with Donatello's relationship with his brothers. I say Donnie because he's my favorite (hence my username). The only exception to this is that I'm going to make the story with MikeyxDon an actual chapter story, not a oneshot. I say so because they're my favorite brother pairing. :)

Anyway, please enjoy this oneshot, and I hope to have more reviews for "Never Thought It Was Better Than It Seemed"! Don't worry guys; the next chapter is coming very soon!

Disclaimer: If I owned TMNT rights, I would make the episodes just like my stories…

* * *

Donatello sighed inwardly, glaring at the computer screen before his red-tinted brown eyes. They could adjust just fine in any effective brightness of light, but this time, his eyes burned from the element illuminating a dark screen on any computer and made just about anything shine, whether it was making the light itself or it absorbed it and responded commonly.

His computer was a very reliable ally to him, especially when it came to having pleasant conversations with a certain redhead via video chat whom Donnie just absolutely adored. At the curious age of nine, he created the industrial-sized, social calculator with a bunch of old memory microchips he had scrounged and rescued from the sewer subway's remains before his brothers, him, and his father claimed the area as their home. Putting together the darned thing was twice as dangerous, getting into some near-death experiences that involved a lot of electricity. (Master Splinter had demanded him to stop after his smartest son's fifth spasm from a painful shock, but the young boy continued anyway.) Donatello knew that he had done a job well done on the computer, but his intelligent brain had also created conclusions of the prices the young turtle would receive with a computer that was hand-made. It might've still not been completely stable.

And that problem was exactly what the poor turtle was battling with right now. It was that night, in the darkness of the living room, staring at a calculator that was being unresponsive to him. Except for the pleasant lighting of the crystal-blue pool that led to the sewers and the hanging ceiling lights at the entrance of the lair where the railroad was, the harsh glare the monitor gave Donnie was worse than his own, causing murder to his eyes and his head, which was beginning to show signs of a coming headache.

The purple turtle knew that his current stage was unhealthy for a turtle, much less a regular human, if they ever experienced the stressing pain he was going through right now by having a glaring contest with a computer. He thought about heading off to bed, but for some reason, he was even to tired to push his fatigued body up and trudge of to his room. It was only 8:35, but he was still thoroughly exhausted. He began to envy his brothers. They were probably having the greatest sleep ever, actually having the energy to prepare their bodies for a relaxing rest.

Groaning, this time with forced frustration, he put his huge green hands over his face and stayed in that position for a while, trying to keep the computer's blinding light from affecting him any further. Little did he know that his night would soon change back to his ways, but to something slightly and unusually, more nice…

* * *

Raphael sighed in content, his acid eyes closed blissfully and softly as he strolled out the bathroom, a towel veiling his left shoulder. It was just one of those times where he felt perfectly good after a nice shower or bath, whichever one, after a hard day's training or a common fight with his older brother, Leonardo. He didn't know why, but having warm water rush over his sore body didn't just cleanse it of psychical dirtiness and emotional tension, but it also cured him of his hardcore personality and temper. But, of course, it he would always return to his regular hard-set self after about two minutes. But it didn't matter; cleansing always refreshed him inside and out.

The red-banded turtle suddenly stopped short from heading to the kitchen when a distinct glare of brightness was absorbed in the corner of his eye. He turned to the familiar source, and came face to shell with the backside of his younger brother, Donatello. Ironically, the latter did not seem to feel or notice Raph's presence standing a few feet behind him, as his state was mind was possessing him to stay with face in hands. Then again, not even Donatello didn't have to be ninja in their own home, except for during training.

Something strange snapped into Raphael's mind, causing him to stare at how distressed Donnie looked. Everyone who knew him understood Raph's dangerous and hot-headed aura. Sure, he could be that way sometimes, even to his brothers, but that soft spot he rarely exposed, except to Spike, would give its true feelings and deep affections to Donnie, Mikey, Master Splinter, April, and yes: even Leo. It was one of the sweetest things of being one of the older brothers. You have to care and protect for your other brothers. And for both his and Leo's cases, that expectation of being a big brother was always set to full power, no matter what.

And now, it was time for Raph to use that responsibility on Donatello right now. He wasn't going to take any nonsense protests from the techno turtle; he was going to spoil his brother, even if he had to mix his threatening aura in it as well.

Besides, he had no plans the rest of the early night…

Keeping his bright eyes on Donnie the entire time, he threw down his towel and made his way to the pit couch where the turtle sat unresponsive, just like his computer.

Raphael immediately regretted the action of laying a warm hand on Donatello's shoulder. The brown-eyed turtle had probably jumped about three inches off the couch, his computer slipping off his lap in the process, along with a surprised yelp escaping him. Quickly acting on his ninja reflexes, he snagged the computer before it could make a full plummet to the hard floor below. He sighed in relief, happy that his cherished device didn't sustain any more damage, this time psychically. However, that satisfied feeling soon turned into weak anger at his brother as he turned to glare at the latter, who was smiling down at him while he knelt to his knees to talk to Donnie better.

"Hey, Donnie," Raph joked with half-teasing, "Had a nice spring break?" he added more teased emphasis on 'spring'. It took all his willpower not to laugh.

Donatello, being the smart turtle he was, caught on to the joke automatically. "Save it, Raphael."

Raph stared at the computer screen. It had a completely blank blue screen except for the only window that texted, "UNRESPONSIVE. Please try again later." in the middle of it.

Donnie trailed his brother's gaze to the monitor, and decided to give him an objective and short response to Raph's questioned stare.

"I was trying to make printable blueprints for a new invention when this happened. The worse part is that I didn't even get to save my work!" At his last word, he repeated the actions of what he did before Raph came to socialize with him, burying his grieving head in his big hands.

It wasn't just Raph who came to realize how hard Donatello worked, but the rest of the family too. April caught on automatically after Donnie explained his role to the team. Ever since then, someone would have to pull or forcefully drag him out of his techno world to focus on real things. It wasn't just exerting himself to his breaking limit of working hard, but it was also hurting his family and friends as well to see how stressed he looked.

Raphael shook his head disapprovingly as he bent over to gingerly take the corruptive device out of Donnie's loose attention span.

However, an alarm was triggered off into the tallest turtle, and he shouted in surprised irritation. "H-Hey! What are you-"

"Ah ah," Raph interrupted with a threatened warning tone. Taking the computer close to his body, he shut off the monitor and shut the lid, ridding the area of the harsh blue glare, then proceeding to set it on the far side of the couch so Don wouldn't touch it. "Donnie, I think it's time you took a break for the rest of the night. By the looks of it, you and your computer both need to relax for the remainder of the night."

The angry beast inside Donatello told him to object to Raph's command. Although, after resting a comforting hand on his shoulder and Raph's death stare boring into his eyes, he soon found himself completely under his big brother's control. He sighed in defeat, lowering his head while his eyes closed.

"Okay…"

Raphael smiled, his bright green eyes sparking off a mischievous evil glint. "From now on until the end of this night, what I say goes. I'm gonna spoil you rotten, Donnie, whether you like it or not."

Donatello elevated his head back up again, his eyes returning an amusing curiousness that was gratefully replaced with that red-tinted evilness from earlier. "Is Raphael in there?"

The said turtle glared at him dangerously, hinting to him that he should probably cease his smart-aleck-ness.

"Okay, to top things off first…What would like to drink? Soda, water, coffee…?" As his brother went down the mental list of the possible drinks they currently possessed, Donnie checked the condition of his throat. It was dry and sore, as he hadn't drank anything ever since he had dinner. He didn't want to give Raph the pleasure of tending to his every need, though. He wasn't a kid, and he didn't need to be babied.

"Uh, I'm not all that thir-"

He was suddenly stopped short when he met Raphael's deadly face. The older turtle could sense that he was lying.

"Ah, um, h-hot chocolate, p-please?" He forced a nervous grin to try to be on all good terms with Raph without getting appendages torn off.

The red turtle smiled reassuringly, patting Donnie on the head with a kind, "Sure thing. Comin' right up.", as he stood up and walked with a slight rush to the kitchen. However, he was stopped short when he heard his name being called from behind. "Raph?"

Raphael responded right away by turning over his shoulder to look at his younger brother. "Yeah, Donnie?"

The purple turtle managed a slight smile when he asked what was on his mind. "Could you…put marshmallows in it…?"

Raph could feel the grin splayed on him threatening to break his face. "Of course, Donnie."

* * *

Raphael had kept to his promise of taking care of Donatello. He had stayed very close to him and watched him with amused interest as his little brother sipped the hot drink from a glass mug. He was halfway done with it, but Raph decided not to let him cherish everything that he did to him that fast. Oh no. He was just getting started…

"It taste any good?" the hotheaded questioned, smiling at how innocent Donnie seemed from his aggressive attention.

"This is excellent, Raph." Donnie smiled up at him, revealing the gap in his teeth that seemed so hard to ignore, even to Raph. He descended his attention back down to his hot chocolate, sipping once again.

This, whether fortunately or unfortunately, for some peoples' cases, has brought Raph up to the next thing he would treat Donnie to. Something that people can't escape from after experiencing the niceness of it.

Raphael laid a hand on his brother's shoulder. "Well, Donnie, you're gonna have to finish the rest of it later. We're going to my room, and I'm gonna give you a massage."

As the words made their way to interpret the meaning in Donatello's intelligent mind, he almost dropped his mug. "W-what?" he sputtered, his words slightly slurred from the hotness of his drink.

"You heard me."

"But, I don't think that's-"

There it was again. The deafening deadly stare. Something horrible was going to happen if the techno turtle protested one more time.

"Do you ever ask me what I wanna do?" he muttered, but eventually gave in to his brother's command. Taking Raph's outstretched hand, Donnie lifted himself up and allowed himself to be led to Raphael's room.

Leo, Mikey, and Donnie rarely ever went into their hotheaded brother's room. If they ever wanted to, it was a clear sign that they didn't want to live anymore. Raphael was overly protective of his keepsakes. But this time, Donnie would actually have reason to live as had a free pass to the room, at least this time.

Raphael gently pushed his little brother to lie on his plastron on his own bed. Raph had two pillows thrown across the width of the mattress, so Raph grabbed one of them and it slipped it under Donnie's tired head.

Donatello had forced himself to relax. He didn't want to pass up on Raph's "gentle" offers and hurt his feelings, if that was psychically possible for their term.

The hothead got on his knees on the bed, towered over Donnie, and started to rub softly on the latter's neck. The tall turtle never actually knew how stiff he was until he felt tension slowly drift out of his neck. He closed his eyes, resisting the urge to try to stop Raph. It was feeling so good.

After rubbing for about three more minutes, Raphael descended and began rubbing kinks out of Donnie's sore shoulders. Donatello had stayed quiet for the entire massage, but Raph knew that his little brother was really enjoying it. He suppressed a smile as he began rubbing with more affection.

And to think this hotheaded, angry, tough-acting turtle could be so gentle, especially to his brothers. His soft spot was showing again, and right now, it had never felt so soothing.

"If anyone deserves this, it's you Donnie," he could hear Raph compliment above him.

After a good solid forty minutes of massaging, Raph had covered Donnie's neck, shoulders, head, and had even rubbed his shell. So, for the last twenty minutes of the hour, he went back to rubbing any knots he missed in his shoulders.

Donnie was getting sleepier and sleepier. He had thought about how much the levels of attention he would get whenever his brothers noticed how tired he seemed. But this time, he didn't even realize how much Raphael cared for him until now. He willingly gave up his boredom to indulge in the much needed love that the purple turtle thrived for.

Time was slipping away from him, and before he knew it, he had felt a strong hand shaking him from dreaming. "Donnie? Donnie, wake up, bro."

Donatello moaned in a soft-spoken reply, slowly opening his eyes as he lifted his head from the soft pillow to gaze at Raphael, who was not over him this time, but standing beside the bed. One of his hands was draped over his shell.

"You alright, brainiac? You nodded off on me there. What, did my massage feel that good?" His tone had changed to smug proudness. Before the drowsy turtle could groan a response, the hothead continued. "Well, don't sleep yet. We're goin' back to the living room. We can watch TV there until you fall asleep." He buried his hands under Don's arms and lifted him off the bed, setting the skinny turtle on his feet.

Looking up at his taller, yet younger brother, Raph plastered something on his face that wasn't ever seen in such a long time: a warm smile.

"What do ya wanna watch?"

* * *

In almost no time flat, the living room was lit up with the friendly brightness of the TV monitor on and showing images on screen. The area was also occupied with the presence of two turtles at the pit, watching the screen. They had decked some of the things in the large room to their liking, so it would be a lot more relaxing for them.

Raphael, being taken over by that soft spot of his, had even allowed Donatello to rest his head on his lap. He understood how tired his younger brother was. He also understood that it was partly his fault. He must've treated him way too much.

Donatello gave a wide, audible yawn, his drooping eyes never leaving the TV. He buried his face deeper into Raph's leg and sighed in a content streak, enjoying the time he had with his brother.

"Thank you, Raph," the younger turtle whispered, "For everything. I loved your company."

The green-eyed turtle's eyes had softened. He managed to wear a slight smirk. "Yeah, well, I ain't makin' a habit of it. Don't be expectin' this every night. It was your lucky day; I just happened to be bored."

Donatello had coated a smile on his face, resisting the urge to prove Raph's faux statement a lie. He knew he cared about him, just as much as Leo and Mikey did.

At that moment, Donnie had never felt so warm and relaxed in his life. He knew that if he outwardly claimed it was weird to get the nice feelings from a hothead, the said turtle would give him a second, and larger gap in his teeth. Though it may have been strange, it also felt very unique too. He was snuggling with a brother whom he spent the least time with. That was what probably boosted the strangeness. However, after coming forth to a thought that made Donnie's heart soar in both nervousness and excitement, he felt that it would probably extinguish the awkwardness. For this idea that he would bring out had happened so many times before in their past lifetime…

Here it goes…

"Raph?"

The said turtle looked down. "Yeah?"

"Do you remember when we were kids…and I found you that one night, singing to Spike in a lullaby…"

Oh, boy, Raph thought. He knew where this was going.

"I thought you were a great singer. I made you sing the lullaby to me when I was scared…now I'm wondering if you are still in good tune so…you can sing it to me again. Right now."

Under a normal circumstance, Donnie would have been seeing stars if he ever said that to Raph at a different time, but this time, he was doing this for him. He was doing this for the little brother he cared about so much.

"So…You're sayin' you want me to sing you the lullaby? Right now?"

Donatello stared at him and nodded, his deep chocolate eyes looking very innocent, loved and soft. "I would love it very much."

Raphael stared at the tall body laying in his lap. It had been a long time since he sang. But if he could to his pet turtle, then he could definitely sing to his turtle brother.

Taking a deep breath, rubbing a soothing hand over Donnie's shell, Raph began singing in Japanese in a soft melody, closing his eyes as he prayed that no one else was around. But Donnie was distracted by how well his brother sang. In fact, it was so well, it was beginning to lull him in to a deep slumber. He yawned again, ending in a soft smile.

"Wow, Raph, you're voice hasn't changed. That's a good sign," the techno turtle joked.

"Hey, shut up." Raphael's annoyed retort had been in the same pitch and tune as the last note he sang, making him sound like a singing robot. Even though he was very weighed with tiredness, Donnie laughed out loud, causing Raph to laugh as well.

As the lullaby continued, Donatello's fatigue was beginning to elevate as well. He yawned one last time, finally letting his eyes slowly drop down to cover chocolate irises.

"I love you…Raphie…"

Did Raphael just hear right?

But he continued to sing all the way until it was over. When he finally done (thank heavens, for his situation) he looked down in question to see Donnie's eyes closed softly, his shell rising up and down in an even motion with his breathing. His brother looked so peaceful.

After interpreting Don's last sentence in his mind, he knew that he heard correctly. Donnie loved him, and Raphael was likewise. He was actually very proud of himself of spoiling his brother. He knew he'd done his job right.

Sighing, he leaned back and stared at the TV for a while before finally coming to with his own share of drowsiness. Soon, the red-banded turtle had followed Donatello's example, with a comforting hand still across him.

Little did both the turtles know that the entire night, his father had been watching their actions…

Stepping from a nearby wall's obscuring hiding place, Master Splinter walked up to his sons, a stray pillow and blanket in each hand. He draped the soft blanket over Donatello's body, while lifting Raphael's head a bit to put the comfy pillow behind it as a head and neck rest so his neck wouldn't get stiff in the morning. Picking up the nearby remote, he had also given the TV comfort by silencing it permenately for the rest of the night.

Splinter smiled at his sons. He would know his most hot-tempered son to get soft when he wanted to, but he was very proud of what he had done to make Donatello more comfortable. He was very proud indeed. And though his son would probably object to it, he would always know in his heart that that Raph had a very special heart.

An attentive heart.

* * *

THE END!

Awwwww…wasn't that cute and adorable? I had fun writing this!

Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about my other stories.

I await good and hasty comments…


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